The most important thing since the internet itself.

October 24, 2007

At least thats what Intel says about it. The it is Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or WiMAX (IEEE 802.16).
If claims are true WiMAX is the Hulk Hogan of WiFi with transmission range purported to be 30 miles from a single transmission tower (although some real world tests realistically have it at 4-8 miles).
In the painted picture WiMAX towers would pop up everywhere just like cell towers and voila! instant internet access from anywhere in the country (world?). A true Global Area Network. With bandwidth comparable to cable, you could surf the net from the backseat or read your emails and download music files on vacation. True, wireless broadband access is available now, but nowhere near these speeds and you are limited by your cell phone service providers coverage area. A possible scenerio is a city that is trying to lure companies to move would implement a WiMAX network and offer free internet access as a selling point.
So OK, I’m in. What’s the hold up.
Thats the million dollar question. A good theory is that the TELCO and cable companies are doing their best to keep their cash cows DSL and cable internet from falling of the land line cliff. If WiMAX were to take off like cellular phone service did in the 90’s the big boys had better have jumped on the bandwagon. More likely that they are trying to squash this as much as possible so they don’t end up with a 41 cent postage stamp and nobody to lick it.
A good sign that we may see some light at the end of the WiMAX tunnel is the acquisition today (10/24/07) of WiMAX specialist Navini by Cisco systems for 330 million dollars, although Cisco has been slow in developing acquisitions in the past.
I guess time will tell whether WiMAX will whither and die or maybe, just maybe, someday I can throw away my CAT5 cable forever.

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